Who Wrote the Following?

Who wrote the following: "[The Bible] should be read in our schools in preference to all other books." Was it,

• Billy Graham, the evangelist
• Pope John Paul II, late leader of the Catholic Church
• Benjamin Rush, father of American public education
• Oprah Winfrey, television talk host

If you said, Benjamin Rush, you're right! Dr. Benjamin Rush (1745-1813) was a distinguished physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

"The great enemy of the salvation of man, in my opinion, never invented a more effectual means of extirpating [extinguishing] Christianity from the world than by persuading mankind that it was improper to read the Bible at schools. [The] Bible, when not read in schools, is seldom read in any subsequent period of life. . . . [It] should be read in our schools in preference to all other books from its containing the greatest portion of that kind of knowledge which is calculated to produce private and public temporal happiness."

You can find more about the "Father of Public Schools Under the Constitution" here.